The Insanity of the United States Postal Service

July 12th, 2015 at 6:49:29 PM permalink
Face
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 61
Posts: 3941
Businesses count as one stop, as do those damned cluster boxes I like so well. So despite that it takes me 20-30 minutes at the big one, it only counts as a single box in the evaluation.
Be bold and risk defeat, or be cautious and encourage it.
September 5th, 2015 at 6:48:53 PM permalink
Face
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 61
Posts: 3941
It's seriously like a case study in the Peter Principle.

I broke a shift linkage today. Nothing major, I just entered a driveway to turn around, attempted to shift into reverse, and the stick went floppy leaving me stuck in drive in a customer's driveway. I had maybe 70min left in the route. The time - 1150a. I was really cruising today. Time to make my Craigslist meetup, run my errands, and still have a decent afternoon and evening with the kid. When the stick went floppy, the first thing I did after securing the vehicle was to check the time. I just had a feeling.

Now, you're the manager of the USPS. Your guy calls and tells you the exact problem. He's in drive, in a driveway, and can't do anything about it. You know he's not done. You know being in a customer's driveway is uncouth. You know it's 89* outside and about 117* in the truck. What do you do?

Me? The answer is so absurdly obvious it requires no thought. I mean, there's only two things you can to do - get your guy a truck, and get your guy's truck. THAT'S IT! There is no shortage of mechanics, no shortage of back up trucks waiting, and certainly this is not nearly the first time this has happened. It's not even the first time it's happened this week. So those two things should be like reflex, like you do it without even thinking.

25 min go buy and a fellow RC pulls up. WTF. He gets out holding his hands up and shaking his head, also like WTF. "WTF you doing here?" I ask. He just continues shaking his head "WTF am I doing here?" he replies. I can only laugh. "Boss sent you?" "Yeah." "Why the f#$% for?" I ask. "You know, that's a good goddamn question." he replies.

He came there to "help me". I said "Help me?" and he says yes, boss man said go help Face. I laugh hard this time. "How in the f#$% are you going to help me? Got a welder in that rig? Gonna give me your truck and walk home? Gonna do my route and I'll walk home?" He's still got his hands up shaking his head. "That's what I told him, I says 'XXXXX, how am I supposed to help?', but he just said go help him." We sort of laugh, he points out that I'm 2/3rds done and it ain't but noon, I correct him and say I'm more like 4/5ths done and only have ~70min to go, and he just shakes his head again. A little bit of that and I thanked him heartily for all his "help" and told him to GTFO of here.

Took 50min to get me a new truck. I was 12min away from the office.

It's not rocket surgery, folks.
Be bold and risk defeat, or be cautious and encourage it.
September 6th, 2015 at 12:18:36 AM permalink
Fleastiff
Member since: Oct 27, 2012
Threads: 62
Posts: 7831
Quote: Face

It kills me lol. I just wanna go with. It's a little pick me up at the end of the day, to remind me that if I keep going, one day I can afford it =p
buying real estate and developing an airpark is a good niche in the market right now.
September 6th, 2015 at 1:00:10 AM permalink
Evenbob
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 146
Posts: 25010
Quote: Face


It's not rocket surgery, folks.


What a strange post. It's like you think you
work for a company that doesn't have
the most pitiful record in history of being
majorly F'd up. It's the PO, dude. Have
you forgotten????
If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose.
September 6th, 2015 at 7:20:13 AM permalink
Face
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 61
Posts: 3941
Quote: Evenbob
What a strange post. It's like you think you
work for a company that doesn't have
the most pitiful record in history of being
majorly F'd up. It's the PO, dude. Have
you forgotten????


Just venting. Call it "preventative maintenance" =p
Be bold and risk defeat, or be cautious and encourage it.
September 20th, 2015 at 4:41:11 PM permalink
Face
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 61
Posts: 3941
So I've had my first dog attack.

I seem to always be able to tell. Dunno if it's all the Attenborough, or all the time spent outside, but I feel I have always had a good intuition as to the disposition of an animal. It just seems easy. Obviously the dogs that "bound" with head up and tail flying just want to play. Others may look "aggressive", but they're really just scared. Front legs straight, head way up, often will crouch or jump backwards before resuming the high legged stance... those just take time. There was one dog that would not let me on the property. Growling, barking, refusing to back down, started at every movement I made. Within 2-3 minutes, I had it prone at my feet. No problem.

This was a first for me. I got out to deliver a parcel; small package in weak hand, scanner in right. I was halfway up the customer's short driveway when I heard a muffled commotion on the other side of the hedge. As I turned to look, a juvie German Shepard came around the end. It was big, nearly "full grown", but you could tell it wasn't even 2yrs old yet. It didn't quite have the shoulders, hadn't filled out. But as soon as I saw it... I dunno. Probably some long buried thread in our DNA, back when wolves and stuff were a problem. I didn't even have to think, didn't have to break down what I saw. What I saw was head down, ears back, back arrow straight, tail straight out. It didn't run, didn't bound; the only way I can describe it is it was "slinking". I can't even really describe what slinking is, nor can I find another adjective. It's just one of those things that when you see it, you know it. Kinda like porn.

I'll admit, I was a little slow. I'm not one to be very dramatic (except when writing =p), and so many dogs run at me I'd look a fool if I was running and jumping every which way all the time. So though I saw it and its posture, I still was walking away looking back over my shoulder. I guess I kept waiting thinking it was gonna stop, or posture up, or run around me. But nope. He wasn't even going for my ankles as expected. He was going for meat.

I spun on it, and I was happy (later, when I had time to think) to find that my hand went to hip. Well, I was on the job, so had no gun. And I haven't yet had a real dog problem, so I had no spray. When I spun, it dodged but didn't stop. It just sort of ceased its attack and kept going, trying to get around me. It took one more half step / half spin, still only 4' away from me, and lunged again. Now there was no question. Boom, adrenaline slammed me flat. This f#$%ing thing would kill me if I gave it a chance. When it lunged this time, I extended the package out. It was small enough to hold with one hand, yet big enough to use as a half assed shield. If it was gonna bite anything, it was gonna get nothing but cardboard. And then I would've came with the right cross with a hand full of scanner and remove every tooth on the left side of its mouth, the sonofabitch that it was.

When I shot the package out, it stopped dead, crouched and faced me. It snarled and bared it's teeth, and I ain't never seen nothing like it. We've all seen snarling dogs and bared teeth, mostly in some wilderness movie when the wolves come. I've never seen a dog snarl so hard you could see its molars. Feet apart, head lowered, hair on back on end, and a whole mess of teeth. You gotta be f#$%ing kidding me.

So there I was, package extended, in an aggressive boxer's stance so I could shuck and jive if it lunged again, with a USPS scanner cocked and locked ready to brain this thing dead. And then this 50something woman finally steps in and just grabs it.

And you know what? I almost shoved that scanner down her throat. I was, and am still, so f#$%ing pissed at this retard. She was right there as this all went down. You know what she did as the dog initially bolted? "Hey." That's what she did. No tone, no command, no volume, just "Hey.". Didn't even yell at the dog, or say "watch the f#$% out Mr Postman!!". Nope. Just "Hey". And when she finally grabbed it? "Sorry." No emotion, no "Holy shit, I almost just ruined some guy's life because I'm a mental defective that doesn't deserve an animal" or "ZOMG I'm so sorry, did he get you, are you OK?!" She didn't even look at me. Just a softly spoken "Sorry", as if it took effort, as if it was my fault and she was irritated at having to do something about it.

F#$%ing people. I hope she catches the flu.
Be bold and risk defeat, or be cautious and encourage it.
September 20th, 2015 at 4:59:16 PM permalink
Evenbob
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 146
Posts: 25010
You need to get a cat like this and take
it with you:

If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose.
September 21st, 2015 at 4:31:07 AM permalink
odiousgambit
Member since: Oct 28, 2012
Threads: 154
Posts: 5055
Quote: Face
...When it lunged this time, I extended the package out. It was small enough to hold with one hand, yet big enough to use as a half assed shield...


Smart. I read something somewhere that said that every animal, only exception being humans, understand something that is in your hands as an extension of you, and if attacking will always go after it. This is why you see lion tamers use a chair.

If unarmed and attacked by a bear, you probably should do what they say and play dead, although for a black bear they say fight for your life unless it's a mom defending a cub*. If armed, I think there would be nothing smarter than having something in one hand to have the bear attack while you let it have it with the other hand's firearm. If a grizzly, I hope I never get to test my theory LOL

*because a black bear should not be attacking you, very rare. One that does is hungry as hell and wants to eat you and won't quit because you play dead. I'm thinking a mom defending a cub will quit if you play dead. With black bears they usually don't defend the cub but send it up a tree and take off themselves. Apparently there can be exceptions to that since 'they' still advise staying away from the cubs. Things get more complicated with any animal once it gets too habituated with humans of course.
I'm Still Standing, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah [it's an old guy chant for me]
December 4th, 2015 at 5:27:11 PM permalink
Face
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 61
Posts: 3941
Bottle of pills, whiskey down
Melt into the floor.
Does it hurt? Are you sore?
Quoth the raven, "nevermore".

I'm going down. I knew it was going to be tough doing the whole "no day off until February" thing. What I did not expect is that every day was going to be 12-15 hours. I pulled 85 hours last week that included a day off for Thanksgiving, as well as skating 5 times a week. I reffed like 2 kid games before being tossed into college level play. I'm breaking, and it's happening very fast.

Today, I broke. I cried three times on the route. I can't even remember the last time I cried. 2005? It was before my kid was born, I know that. My back hurts so fucking much, that between the pain and the absolute frustration of being a goddamn cripple, I broke. I could hear my vertebrae clicking together, I heard it with my teeth. It was like my very own telltale heart. Drove me half mad and the pain is just ungodly. It feels like I have been branded, that's the only way to describe it. That one strip that's usually tight and crampy can't even be touched. Do so and I'll literally scream, it's as if your finger is a blow torch. I have no idea why it burns, or why just grazing the skin would hurt, but Christ all Friday, it's legit torture.

I leave before my kid is up. I get back after he's in bed. Every day is either me working my route plus half another, or I have so much it can't all be fit in the truck and I have to make two trips. It's a matter of time before a gun is pulled on me, as a hooded figure wearing camo and running through yards in the dark just ain't a good look. And run I must, as there is literally no other way. If I don't run, if I stop for a breather, if I stop to eat, I don't get home until 11p. At this point I can only hope I get shot, as at least then, I can rest.

I was just informed I'm working Sunday, too. I told him to go f#$% himself. 3 days I fought over this, eventually getting in his face and engaging in a yelling match before he relented. But after this Sunday, it's work 7 days a week, or find a new job. On that, I don't really see a choice, though I doubt I'll make it to next Sunday before someone has to be sent out to physically carry me back to the office, and that will be that.

Got my check... $1,000. I'm not even having one red cent of Federal taken out, and I scored $1,000. Do people really work this hard for $26-$30k a year? Someone needs to answer for my skewed expectations.

I'd finish with my typical silver lining, but I am fresh out. Off to bed, lest I oversleep and miss the pain train.

Choo-choo.
Be bold and risk defeat, or be cautious and encourage it.
December 4th, 2015 at 5:45:48 PM permalink
rxwine
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 188
Posts: 18633
When you look at your options as being between a rock and a hard place, it's pretty tough for anyone.

Stuff like this I try to focus on the period where it ends (3 weeks?).

All anger and crazy thoughts are actually normal under some conditions.

Good luck.
You believe in an invisible god, and dismiss people who say they are trans? Really?